Hiking, Cooking, Archery

Hola!
We returned from a week of Camp for the Young Women in our congregation...girls ages 12-17 can go.  There are 4 years of certification, and then the older girls are YCL's or Youth Camp Leaders.

Kara was a 4th year camper this year, and Teresa went as a YCL for the third time!  She's been to camp now for 7 years, and really loves it.  She helped out the 1st year campers.

COOK FOR YOURSELF!  The 4th year girls (Kara's group) also gets to go on "Primitive," an overnight pack-your-own-tent camping trip, where they hike in and swim and cook each meal for themselves.

 Then the next day they get to go on a ropes course, all of this the day and night before the rest of the girls start camp.

Frank went with them, and a good time was had by all.

ropes course

 He taught them some of the camping skills he teaches his boy scouts in his group.

Kara looks like she's walking on air

Rope tying, hatchet sharpening and wood skills.  They got a couple of sprinkles, but they dodged the real rain.

I'm 3rd from left: the fan is blowing my bandana
so it's flying off of my head :)

COOK FOR EVERYBODY ELSE! I was a cook at camp, since this camp has a big dining hall and kitchen!  The girls cook some each day in their camps, but the other meals are provided in the dining hall.  Our head cook, Tanya, is a master at cooking for the masses.  We had pulled pork, monte cristo sandwiches, cookies and amazing cinnamon rolls.  The taco bar on the last night ended with banana splits!

LAKE TIME.  We had some fun time planned, too -- we got some scheduled time to take the kayaks or paddle boards out on the lake.

SHOOTING.  We also got to try our skills at archery, and also practice some target shooting with the .22's.  Here are some pics that Kelley took with her phone.

I was not Suzie Shutterbug this time (we stay pretty busy in that kitchen, you know...), so I didn't get photos of Teresa in action.

I'm going through all kinds of photos right now, so I'll post one from 6 YEARS AGO!  Teresa found a tiny baby chipmunk in our yard and asked if she could move it.  She put on gloves and here she is.

Have a good week!  Kari

Warm Temps, Fireworks, Musical Treat

Hello and Happy July!

SUMMER WEATHER.  We turned the calendar page, and it's warm outside, and sometimes muggy!  I think that means it's officially summer.

We ordered new Cutco knives from Teresa -- in her "fast start" period (first 10 days), she had 13 appointments and sold roughly $2800 worth of knives.  It was a good beginning, and showed her the process.  It remains to be seen if she wants to continue for the whole summer.

you remember Teresa...the graduate :)

The knives came in today, so now we get to officially use them!

School got out, and Kara uttered some wonderful words: "I have so much TIME!  Can I make some meals?"

Kara is cutting up zucchini right now, as I type this.  Zucchini fries are on the menu for this evening.

4TH of JULY in BOSTON.  We got to see 2 fireworks shows, one on the 3rd, and one on the 4th of July.  On the 4th, we went downtown to Boston.  Always a treat!  The weather cooperated completely, and the show went off without a hitch.  The Boston Pops Orchestra puts on a show before the fireworks.  Wonderful music, wonderful show.

Frank looked it up and the biggest fireworks displays in the country are:

1) New York City

2) Washington D.C. and

3) Boston

So, we just watched the 3rd largest fireworks display in the U.S.!

YOUTH CONFERENCE.  Otherwise, we're getting ready for Youth Conference (with the church group, ages 14-18), on Thursday.  Frank and I are chaperones.  We will ride buses with kids to New York.  We get to see the Hill Cumorah pageant, and some of the church history sites in the area.  We'll stay in college dorms Thursday and Friday nights.  Should be an adventure! :)

Oh, and we got a real treat last night:

MORMON TABERNACLE CHOIR.

We got to see them in concert, on the last night of their 2-week Atlantic Coast tour!  I think I've only seen them one time, in a live concert.

So that was our weekend!  Hopefully you had some good weather too.

Love, Kari